Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
White Tea Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Cream the butter and sugar together.
Dissolve the corn starch in the milk and add it to the mixture.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks and gently fold them into the batter.
Bake
Pour the batter into a loaf pan and bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until done.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Corn + orangetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together586 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + corntop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,165 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Creams with the sugar to add richness and a tender crumb.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to stiff peaks, they lighten the batter and give the cake lift.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the cake rise in the oven.
- Corn starch
- Softens the crumb, giving a finer, more tender texture than flour alone.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps tenderize it when creamed with butter.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Stiff egg whites trap air that makes the cake light. Folding gently keeps that air in; vigorous stirring deflates the batter and yields a denser cake.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, flour, butter, egg, milk, corn):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Coconutfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, flour, butter, egg, milk, corn. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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